I've gone through all the previous posts about coolant leaks, but I did find any that matched my situation.


I've had a very very slow coolant leak for the last year or so. About 2 months ago I checked it before leaving the house and the level was fine. I got a couple miles away and started smelling coolant in the cab. I pulled into a parking lot and checked for leaks; didn't find any. I took it back home and let it cool down. I still couldn't find a leak and I couldn't get it to replicate the smell in the cab.

I checked the fluid level and it was almost empty. I refilled it and drove it 2 miles. I let it cool and checked the level again. Almost empty. And still no smell in the cab. No smoke from the exhaust and no coolant smell coming from it. I checked the oil, and there doesn't appear to be any coolant getting into the oil.

I went out today to try to figure out what was going on and found this leak. Is this part of the heater core? Is there supposed to be a hose leading from this? It's coming out of the rear wall of the engine compartment; below and to the right of the Heater/ac equipment.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

That's the drain for the AC evaporator inside the heater box, it should drip water, its not coolant


Best way to find a coolant leak is to use a cooling system pressure tester, you can rent these
It is a rad cap with a gauge and hand pump attached
You can pump up the COLD cooling system to 20-25psi, and watch IF it is losing pressure, if so you will also see where the coolant is dripping out, because engine is cold so coolant can't evaporate, it just drips to the ground

Also check passenger side in the cab for leak from heater core, that's where it would come out, inside the cab

 

There's no leak in the cab.

Doing a pressure test on the radiator was next on my list.

I came across that small pipe and didn't know for sure what it was, and why coolant was coming out of it.

 

It should be WATER, check it

Pressure tester tests the whole cooling system not just the radiator

 

I did check, when I found it. It's coolant.

 

Then heater core is leaking into evaporator box